Project SKAIA
by Roowbin
Summary: The 8 agents of Project SKAIA have one goal: to stop the alien terrorists from taking over the world. They may be well trained to take them down physically but when relationships start to form will it compromise their mission? Lots of pairings and rated T for cursing and mild interminglings. Every character is in a pairing so it is too long to list here.
1. Interruptions

This is classified information. Project SKAIA is dedicated to taking down terrorists of the alien race called trolls. There are an unknown number of them that arrived in the year 2012. They have only just begun to make their presence known. They have already bombed many facilities, yet some informants have revealed that this is only the beginning. The public do not know of the threat yet, and hopefully they never will. A collection of governments have volunteered special agents to take on the task of protecting the world from these mysterious terrorists. These agents are all young in age and related, because some will have limited contact to the outside world, hence SKAIA: Specialized Kindred Acquiring and Imprisoning Aliens. The collection of 8 agents form to make one unit, all with one goal, to accomplish one mission: Project SKAIA.

XXXXX

His feet echoed down the barren white hallway. It was yet another monotonous day. As he made his way to the main room he passed many of the heavily armored doors to either side of him. This was where the prisoners were held. Not just any regular prisoners, but especially dangerous ones. One could say the danger they possessed was… out of this world.

John scoffed at that awful joke, shaking his head at his corny thoughts. But hey, a person could get bored in a place like this. Even though the prisoners were aliens, the job of a guard was just as boring as a guard any other place. Well, except for the occasional outbursts. John knew his job would eventually get more exciting as more prisoners came in, but so far there was only a few.

Just as he thought that, a shout sounded from down the hall. Well, more like a series of shouts, all possessing crude curse words. John quickly made his way to the corner of the hall and looked down. There he saw a furious alien being detained by his best friend. As Dave moved swiftly down the hallway John stepped back, not wanting to get in the way. He immediately recognized the alien, or troll, to use the formal term. His flurry of cursing and small stature gave him away as the leader of the trolls, Karkat.

They had all been briefed on the known aliens and asked to memorize them. There were only six trolls seen so far, and four, now five, captured. The team knew of three trolls who had not been seen yet. As for others that they might not even know about, who knew how many more there were?

As the two walked past, the shorter struggling as they did, John caught the troll's eyes. They were blood red, vibrant and filled with fury. John felt himself being pulled into his gaze, mesmerized by it. The trolls began focusing his cursing on John instead of Dave. John continued to be pulled in by those eyes, not even hearing what he was saying. It wasn't until the two passed that John realized he had been staring.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked to where Dave was shutting a heavy vaulted door. Once it was securely locked Dave turned around to lean on the door, his head resting on it as he let out a long sigh.

"Difficult catch?" John inquired, revealing his usual dorky grin. Dave glanced over, his shades hiding his expression.

"He wouldn't fucking shut up" John smiled widely up at him until Dave finally gave in and cracked a smile as well.

"I haven't seen you in ages, what have you been up to? Rose never tells me anything. Hey, that was Karkat right? Isn't he the leader of the group or something? Does that mean this whole operation is almost over?" Dave quickly interrupted before John could continue.

"Nah, man. That guy is like the puppet of this whole thing. It's like someone else is pullin the strings, bein all 'I got this, bro, just do this puppet thing and I'll do my take over the world thing'." Dave slowly began walking towards the main room, with John close behind.

"Rose will explain it better when we debrief. She always does." John huffed, annoyed.

"That's what you always say now. It's like you've changed Dave, you never tell me anything anymore. And hey, why didn't those two help you out with the catch?" Dave visibly stiffened, then mechanically started walking again, as if it was a struggle.

"Oh. Never mind, I'm sorry I brought it up." John wrung his hands in silence as they walked into the main room. They both took a seat at a large glass table, the walls around them illuminating white light much like every other room in the facility. Dave stared straight ahead, his face devoid of emotion, much like it always was these days. It wasn't always like this though. Before the project, before the aliens, before… them. John sighed heavily right as a disgruntled Rose walked into the room.

XXXXX

Jane sighed as she pushed a meddling hand out of her way.

"Roxy, I need to work. You keep distracting me." Roxy had been bugging her for the past hour, alcohol evident in her breath. She was leaning on one of the lab tables as Jane finished typing up her report. Jane was a biochemist, specialized in pharmacology. Her job at the headquarters was to find create drugs to help detain the trolls, though most of her work went into 'taming' Gamzee, the troll that had the most outbreaks.

She finished typing a sentence and leaned back away from the computer. Roxy was picking up various chemicals in the lab and swirling them around in their bottles carelessly, a stupid grin plastered on her face.

"Oh Janey, don't you like my distraptions?" Roxy burst out into a giggle, and Jane rolled her eyes. She stood up and snatched the bottle of potassium fluoride away from her.

"If you are not careful with these you will harm yourself" Roxy gave her a sly smile.

"Oh reely? Well what would ya do if I was hurt hmmm?" Roxy stood up and came closer, putting her hands on Jane's slender shoulders. As she giggled Jane could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"Don't you have work to do?" Roxy worked as a security guard, but since she was clearly irresponsible she just watched the security cameras. Well, at least most of the time.

"But Janey that's so booooring! I'd rather have fun in here with you" with that she placed a sloppy kiss on Jane's lips, and Jane rolled her eyes. She knew they were in a relationship, but she sometimes couldn't for the life of her understand why she was attracted to her. She was so irresponsible and idiotic and… refreshing. After all they were foils of each other and balanced well. Jane was hesitant when they were at work, but hell, that report was long and she was dead tired. She did deserve a… reward.

She leaned into the kiss, guiding Roxy's lips to an actual kiss and deepened it. Roxy moaned then moved her hands to Jane's back. _This is fun_.

"I'm sorry. Am I _interrupting_ something?"

XXXXX

Rose was furious. Her day was already not going well and now she walks in on this? Her voice was cold and piercing.

"I can come back later when you two feel up to doing work. This relationship is obviously more important and it's not like we are detaining dangerous criminals in this facility anyway. This is the _perfect_ place to get to second base isn't it?"

Jane quickly pushed a dazed Roxy away from her as her face rapidly turned scarlet.

"I, I'm so sorry ma'am, I don't know what came over-" Rose came up to her, glowering down at her.

"My sister is a recovering alcoholic. I will not have you taking advantage of her. _Especially_ not in this facility. Understood?" Jane quickly nodded.

"Yes ma'am" Rose stared at her a moment longer, then turned on her heels to face Roxy.

"As for you, I gave you this job to help your recovery and to keep an eye on you. And you repay me with this?" Rose stepped close to her still tipsy sister.

"You reek of alcohol. I cannot _believe_-" Her phone messaged her, and she quickly glanced at it. She grumbled, then glanced up at Roxy.

"I will deal with you later. Dave has detained another criminal; I need to deal with that. Go back to your station Roxy. Now." With that she quickly spun on her heels and swiftly walked to the main room. It was good news, yet it was the last thing she wanted to deal today. Not after what happened this morning.

The sliding glass doors opened as she made her way into the main room, seeing that John and Dave had already taken a seat.

XXXXX

**A/N So this will be a long series and I will try to update regularly, but it might not happen very well. I'm sorry if some of the characters are OOC, some I cannot do well. The first chapter doesn't give much, more like a taste test for the future! ;) There will also be a lot of pairings in this series, it's my goal to have as many as possible. :3 There will be a lot of things unexplained at first, but it will all come with time! Please tell me what you think! The more reviews the faster I update! Thanks for reading!**


	2. A Favor

XXXXX

Dave was having a hard time paying attention; he had a horrible migraine that was so not ironic. He had been up for the past 27 hours and the last place he wanted to be was in the debriefing room. God, he could just imagine his bed, waiting for him, calling him to slumber. He jerked back from his fantasy as a hand waved in front of his face.

"Dave? Are you even listening?" Rose asked in an annoyed tone, crossing her arms, until Dave looked at her.

"Yeah" She huffed at him and continued her hand waving back to the large projection on one of the walls. John was looking curiously at the wall, but he had seen this before. It showed the pictures of all the known trolls, an X through the ones captured. The only difference was Karkat, who had an X now.

"Good job bringing Karkat in, he was the leader of the terrorist organization so hopefully the rest will fall without him. However, informants speculate this is not true, that he was just the figurehead. If that is correct, it would explain why he suddenly went on a seemingly unplanned killing rampage. Even though he bombed two office buildings, Dave stopped him before he could get any farther. So now-"

"Why weren't those two there? This is their job, not mine." Dave questioned in a sour tone. Rose sighed, knowing that this question would come up.

"Yes, they should have been there but unfortunately we were not able to contact them as well as you. This was a high stakes capture, and people died. We could not afford to waste time." She looked at him menacingly, daring him to argue. Dave merely huffed and crossed his arms.

"Are we done here? I have my own mission to get back to. And I'm dead tired." Rose nodded at her cousin.

"Yes, rest here and then go back to your mission. You do not need to be debriefed on anything else. If something does come up I'll message you." With that, Dave stood up and walked out of the blindingly white room. His shoulders relaxed as he walked down the hall to his room. He hardly used it anymore, as he was constantly out.

He punched in the key code to get into his room and the door slide open. He immediately flopped on his bed, relaxing into it. He was fully prepared to fall asleep, yet somehow, he couldn't. As he closed his eyes all he could see were the bombs going off, the people screaming and running out of the building. And in the middle of it all, was that awful troll, his eyes the bright blood of the people he murdered.

The duel they fought was long and tedious, Dave with his long sword and Karkat branding a sickle. They fought for a long time, until Dave had finally managed to get the sickle out of his hands. He wanted to kill Karkat right there and then for murdering all of those innocent people, but the rules required him to bring Karkat in alive. With many injuries yes, but still alive. And jeez, how the troll could curse. It was not a pleasant ride back to the base with him.

Dave tried to clear his mind of Karkat, hating to even think about him. Unfortunately, his mind found something else to worry about. It was not his job to take down the trolls; it was his brothers and Jakes. They had been unresponsive the past few days, mostly likely due to their beginning relationship. Dave hated how Dirk seemingly abandoned his duties, the safety of the world, just to have a stupid relationship.

Dave punched the pillow in frustration. Dirk and Jake were the recon team. It was their job to bring down the trolls. Dave had his own mission. There was something else going on with the group of terrorists, and it was his job to find out. To find what secrets they were hiding. And trust him, there were plenty. He was so close to a breakthrough when he was messaged to take on Karkat. Ugh! He hated his stupid irresponsible brother so much! He was so selfish!

Dave sighed, his mind going into frustration and worry. This wasn't how he used to be, but hey, responsibility can change a guy. Finally his mind began to settle, and he thankfully fell into a deep, well deserved slumber.

XXXXX

John watched as Dave left the room, worried about him. It seemed like these days that's all John felt towards Dave, worry. He was such a different person. Ever since the project began and they broke up, Dave had completely changed. It was even Dave who broke it off, saying that the responsibility they had was more important than their relationship. It was 8 months into the project, and John had finally gotten over Dave. He was still worried for his friend though. As he sighed once again, he focused on what Rose was saying.

"Karkat is possibly the most dangerous criminal we have in this facility now, for reasons of his character. He will not hesitate to manipulate you, lie to you, and kill you. Are you prepared to take on the task of being his guard with these points in mind?"

John didn't hesitate when he nodded. If he could handle Gamzee, he could handle any troll. And Gamzee had been an eye opener on the difficulty of this project. Besides, John was for some reason unknown to him fascinated by Karkat. He felt like they had a connection the first time they saw each other. What connection it was and why was just another reason to be his guard: to find out.

Rose smiled tightly and continued.

"Good. I know you are up to this task. Because of this I have a favor to ask of you." Rose looked hesitant. John's interest was piqued.

"Well?" He asked, eyebrow rose with a half smile. Rose sighed.

"Will you take food to prisoner six's cell today? I am busy and don't think I will be able to find the time today." Her voice wavered in the last few words, and John was astonished. Rose was the most stone faced person he knew, never letting her emotions show. Something big must have happened to her, something to do with Kanaya, aka prisoner six.

Kanaya was originally assigned as John's responsibility, as every prisoner was his responsibility. After a few weeks succeeding her capture, John had noticed Rose visiting Kanaya. What they talked about he didn't know, and when he asked her once she said it was to find "information on the enemy". Soon after he asked she assigned herself to be Kanayas guard. John figured that they had become like friends, much like him and prisoner two. So he didn't bother them.

"Well, I have work to get back to, and so do you". John watched as Rose hurriedly left the room, avoiding John's eyes. He slowly got up and began to walk out into the hall, thinking as he went.

Kanaya must have said something, or done something. His face scrunched up as he thought of his hurt friend, wondering what Kanaya could have done to earn a reaction like that from Rose.

As much as it hurt to ignore the obvious problem between them, he _did_ have work to get back to. And integrating a new prisoner into the system was no easy task.

He made his way down the hall, stopping at the small kitchen situated in the middle of the long white hallway. This is where the food was made for the prisoners. It was all premade, and John grabbed one of the saran wrapped trays from the fridge. He headed back out into the hall until he stopped at cell four.

As John was punching in the code to the door, his stomach fluttered. Was he… nervous? He couldn't think of any reason to be, and shook off the feeling. He pressed his thumb to the key reader, and slid his card through the slot.

This was a high security facility, so apparently a lot of locks were necessary. It had become annoying the one day he lost his key card though. John shook that memory away as he stepped into the dividing room.

In all of the cells there were two rooms. The room the prisoners were held in, and an observing room, for more security. The idea was that if something happened inside and the prisoner managed to get through the door, another door would stop him. In the small narrow room a one sided mirror lined the wall, looking into the prisoners room. John could see Karkat sitting on his bed, scowling at the wall.

The rooms they kept the prisoners in were comfortable. They had a decent bed, a chair, a table, and a laptop. While the last might seem odd, it was for informational reasons. All the laptops were uploaded with Trollian, Trolls version of Pesterchum. Their conversations were monitored, hoping that they would reveal their plans.

John entered another key code, punched his thumb in the reader, and slid his card through. The door slid open with a hiss.

XXXXX

**A/N This storys setting is still being set up, so I'm sorry if it seems really boring right now! I promise the next chapter will have more action! I just really need to set up the situation. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! It really motivated me to continue! And I have a question for everyone, would you rather I posted often and had short chapters like this or wait to post and have longer chapters? Let me know! Thanks for reading! :D **


	3. Puzzles

"Yeth!" Sollux pumped his fist in the air, an unusual display of emotion for him. He deserved it though.

It was two in the morning, and the only light in the cramped apartment was the glow of the computer lighting up his dropping eyelids and fatigued face. His apartment was one room, his bed shoved to the corner, week old pizza boxes cluttered around the floor. While Sollux thought that the human food was revolting, its convenience outweighed his tastes. Even though that was likely the reason why he was so sickly, not enough nutrients for his particular troll physique.

While this seemed like an odd place for a troll to stay, it was perfect. The agents after the trolls wouldn't suspect one living in a city, with so many people. And as long as he didn't go out, no one suspected him. He ordered takeout, hiding in a hoodie every time he opened the door. No one would disturb him. Well, almost no one.

He felt a cold presence wash over his mind, and his smile widened.

"Aradia! I found the algorithm! All we need to do is thend it!" Aradias spirit moved away, and she radiated discontent. She was the first of troll to die on this planet, her low blood caste couldn't resist the powerful human diseases. Sollux had always been able to see the dead, so their relationship had continued, but in a strange way.

"I can thave you Aradia, don't you underthtand? I miss you tho much." Aradias presence was still cautious, but she radiated warmth at that statement. While she couldn't talk to him, she tried to stay in relation to him. She pitied him, after all.

Sollux smiled in her direction.

"I love you too"

XXXXX

John quickly stepped inside, the bright white light in the room making him squint. The door quickly slid shut. A John stood with the tray, Karkat immediately looked up.

"What the fuck do you want?" He asked in a sour tone, but his heart wasn't into it. Despite that, he snarled at John, as if daring him to come closer. John smiled dorkily at him and walked over to the small white table to put down the tray of food.

"To get you acquainted with the facility, of course" He smiled widely at Karkat, careful to not let his guard down.

"And why the fuck would you do that? Aren't I just some prisoner now?!" Karkat jumped up and walked over to John, his eyes glinting dangerously. To John's surprise, Karkat was shorter than him. John was already a short guy, and to have a notorious killer be so small was ironic. Still, John was not worried, even when Karkat took his shirt by the collar and shoved him up against the wall. John just smiled down at him, but not in a friendly way.

"Let go" He said in a calm yet serious tone. Karkat only smirked, clearly believing that he had the upper hand.

"I don't know what's wrong with your fucking think pan to just walk in here and think that you wouldn't get killed. Do you _know_ who I am?" He barked out a laugh. Then set his cold gaze on John, who was unamused. His smile disappeared as his face went stone cold.

"This is the last time I will warn you. Let go" Karkat snarled, apparently ticked off at John not taking him seriously. He shoved him into the wall with more force.

"Did you not hear me or are you really a fucking idiot? I will _crush_ you, watch as you yell in agony begging me to end your pitiful life!" John just rolled his eyes.

"Don't say I didn't warn you" With that, John quickly grabbed Karkats wrists and twisted him around, throwing him to the ground. In an instant John had his knee to Karkats back, all the while holding Karkats wrists back at a painful angle as Karkat wriggled beneath him, shocked that John had been able to do such a thing.

"Wha- what just fucking happened?!" Karkat stammered out, thrashing beneath John violently. John leaned down and got close to Karkats ear.

"Did you really expect me to be such a weak person, the one in charge of keeping you criminals in line? I was trained for this position, so don't you dare underestimate me. Understood?" Karkat went still underneath him, as if contemplating. Stiffly, he nodded.

John smiled once again, and let Karkat up. Karkat quickly hopped up and went over to sit on his bed, obviously furious and slightly embarrassed that his guard had so easily detained him.

"Let's start over. My name is John, and I will be your guard. As long as you keep in line, we should have no problems" Karkat scoffed at that, looking at John with disgust. He was just another weak, ignorant human. How could he be stronger than Karkat? Granted, he hadn't held him to the wall that hard; he didn't think he would have to. John saw how Karkat was still furious at the situation.

"Aw, don't worry, it was partially my strength, and partially the drugs in your system that makes you weak" Karkat looked at him with horror.

"What fucking drugs?!" John laughed.

"Didn't you notice when Dave injected you? It's for safer transport. Also there are drugs in your food to make you weaker here to more easily detain you. And before you think about not eating, you will have to eat sometime. The lack of food would make you weaker then the drugs can" Karkat glared more hatefully at John, if that was even possible.

"Well, shall we move on to other things now?" John began to explain the schedule of the facility, show Karkat the amenities in the room, and the downloaded trollian on his computer. Even though Karkat wanted to show he didn't care, he reluctantly listened to the human. Even though John was just a human, Karkat found an unwelcome respect for him in his mind. Any human that had the strength to take him down was granted the reluctant respect from Karkat, even though he was weaker. He had even more disgruntled admiration for the fact that John seemed like a weak scrawny human but in reality he was strong.

As Karkat was thinking he didn't notice as John had finished his shpeel and was looking at Karkat expectantly.

"Well?" John raised his eyebrows at Karkat.

"What?" Karkats hands clenched on his knees as he snarled at John. The human sighed exasperated.

"I asked if you have any questions? I won't see you until tomorrow so now's the time to ask" At this Karkat snapped his head, anger raging forth again.

"Why would I have any fucking questions for you!? This is a fucking prison, not a five star resort! What the fuck is wrong with humans think pans to want to treat us trolls nicely? We want to fucking destroy your planet!" Karkat stood up clenching his fists, his nails digging into his flesh, yet he did not move closer to John. He knew he would just be put in his place again.

"You're all idiots! As stupid as fucking wrigglers!" Karkat huffed and glared at John, who had a serious look of concern on his face. John slowly sighed and contemplated what his response would be.

"Karkat…things are different on this planet. People don't have to be cruel to others, even when others happen to be murderers. Humans, we believe in second chances. And while we may not be letting you out of here, that doesn't mean that we're not going to treat you like a person." Karkat just looked dumbfounded, silenced by the strange concept John was spouting.

As John turned to punch the code into the door lock, he looked back at Karkat and gave him a warm smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow" with that John left, leaving a still shocked Karkat behind. He just couldn't wrap his head around it. Kindness had always been a sign of weakness on Alternia, and the trolls who displayed that trait didn't last long. So even the idea of this concept startled Karkat, even frightened him. And John, he was so compassionate and kind, yet at the same time strong and willful. How could that even be a combination in a person? This was a puzzle that would keep his mind busy in a place like this for a while.

XXXXX

**A/N Ok, I know this was a very delayed update, I'm sorry! I will try to keep up with it more. I was going to add more to this chapter, but I figured I would get this up so it wouldn't take even longer. Thank you everyone who reviewed! You are amazing! Please leave another, and I might have the next chap up by Friday! :D**


	4. The Decision

**A/N Just so no one gets confused *********** means flashback. Enjoy!**

XXXXX

Tavros was exactly where he wanted to be in life. He was with his matesprit, safe, and near his moirail. He could not remember a time when he was more content then this. This seemed odd, as he was one of the prisoners at Project Skaias base.

He paid no mind to this, and enjoyed the schedules and the kindness that the unusual facility offered him. As he finished a chapter in the book he was reading, he set it down and began to roll to the bed in his cell. His legs haven't been able to function because of a certain situation involving his ex kismesis. He had a pair of robotic legs that Equius had made for him after the incident, but they were confiscated as soon as he arrived to the facility. They deemed it made him safer to be around. Tavros didn't mind, he had used a four wheel device in his past before.

As he rolled next to the bed, he stretched out a hand to push back the stray locks that fell over Gamzees closed eyes. He smiled as his matesprit slept. Usually the agents wouldn't allow trolls to share a room, but that is why Tavros was here in the first place. When Gamzee was first taken to the facility, they didn't have strong enough drugs for him and Gamzee was unbearable. Gamzee wanted his sopor and his matesprit. They had only been matesprits for a month before that, but they had bonded quickly.

So Tavros made a decision. The group didn't like it though; he remembered the argument like it was yesterday.

"He needs my help, I'm his mateprit, I'm, uh, supposed to be there for him!" Tavros stood addressing the group, trying to be confident. Karkat scowled.

"No you don't, do you fucking realize how messed up this is, just surrendering to the enemy?!"

"I have to agree with Karkat on this. A decision like this seems rash and not quite thought out" Kanaya looked worried, as if he was a small child not knowing what mistake he was making.

"Well, I think little Tavy here just wants out of the business" Vriska walked up to Tavros and sneered, putting a finger on his chest.

"Huh? Not ready to kill someone? The fire too hot for you boy?" With that she pushed him back, flicking her hair as she walked away. As he watched her leave, he noticed her head slightly flick back as if waiting for his retort. Tavros rolled his eyes. Ever since he broke up with her as a kismesis she had been egging him on to get back into it. Tavros just didn't want to be black for anyone. At least not for her.

Despite his usual personality he clenched his fists and a determined look set on his face.

"I have to do this for my Matesprit. He needs me. Besides, it's not like any of you can relate" The whole room went dead silent as they all turned towards him.

Kanaya had a look of pure fury on her face, a rare expression for her.

"Fine. Maybe it _will_ be better for you to just leave." She stood up and swiftly glided out of the room, an angry aura surrounding her. Never mention a trolls empty quadrants. Tavros knew this, but he said it anyway. They just didn't understand, and it's not like he would be of any help anyway.

After the argument, he left and never went back. It was actually harder to purposely get captured than he thought. He didn't know where the base was, so he couldn't turn himself in. if he tried to turn himself into the regular police, they would probably shoot him before he got close. Not knowing where to go, he just walked. He couldn't think of anything else to do. He was on the west coast near the ocean. As he walked he would look out over the ocean from the cliffs he was on. There were no signs of towns around ever since he left their base, and he had no idea where he was or where he was headed. _Maybe this wasn't a great idea. _Eventually, he stopped by a tree to rest. He slipped off his backpack and pulled out his laptop. He had charged his laptop the night before, and he hoped it would last until he was captured. He decided to see how his matesprit was doing.

**adiosToreador began trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

AT: hEY, uH, gAMZEE,,, hOW ARE YOU?

TC: i'm doin real fine

TC: REAL MOTHERFUCKING FINE.

TC: if they would just give me my sopor

TC: MY MOTHERFUCKING MIRACLE JAM

TC: i'd be all up and bein more fine redbro :o)

AT: oH, wELL, i HAVE GOOD NEWS,, i'M COMING FOR YOU }:)

TC: THAT'S MOTHERFUCKIN MIRACLES BRO.

TC: when are you all up and comin?

TC: I NEED TO SEE MY MOTHERFUCKING MATESPRIT.

AT: uH, i ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW HOW I'LL BE ABLE TO GET THERE,, i MEAN, i DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS,,

TC: don't worry tavbro, i'm sure a miracle will come your way :o)

AT: tHANKS GAMZEE }:) i DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START THOUGH,,

TC: do you seriously want to be captured?

AT: uH, yEAH,, tHATS WHAT I WAS SAYING,,,

TC: i can help you with that, where are you?

TC: I DID NOT MOTHERFUCKING SAY THAT :o(

TC: just tell me where you're at!

AT: uH,, gAMZEE?

TC: i don't mother fucking know who's talking on my handle

TC: it's ok! I hacked into your account, i was monitoring it :)

AT: uM,,,, wHAT?

TC: i guess it would be simpler if i just officially joined this conversation

**gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering adiosToreador and terminallyCapricious [TC]**

GG: there, that's better :) so let me explain

GG: part of my job is to monitor the prisoners trollian

GG: so if you want i can make arrangements for your capture

GG: though that is the strangest thing i have ever done

AT: oH, wELL,, tHANKS! }:)

GG: no problem! :)

TC: YOU WERE MOTHERFUCKING WATCHING ME?

TC: this is not miraculous at all :o(

GG: i'm sorry! it's what I have to do :(

TC: ITS MOTHERFUCKING FINE.

TC: I guess :o(

GG: so, where are you so i can get someone to pick you up?

AT: oH, i'M,,, near A TREE?

GG: …can i get more description please?

AT: ,,, bY A CLIFF,, aND, uH, gRASS,,

GG: do you see anything with a name on it?

Tavros looked around, trying to find something. He peered over the cliff. To his luck, a shipping dock was off in the distance. he could barely make out the name on a ship as it came in to dock.

AT: i SEE A SHIPPING DOCK,, iTS NAME IS DERSE SHIPPING,,, dOES THAT HELP?

GG: give me a second

GG: yeah i got it, thanks :)

AT: nO PROBLEM, tHANK YOU }:)

GG: yep! well, ill have dirk and jake pick you up there!

GG: wait, actually daves closer, ill just ask him! it shouldn't be a problem since youre willing to go.

GG: could you try to go down to the shipyard to be close please?

AT: yEAH, uM, nO PROBLEM,,

TC: I'LL SEE YOU MOTHERFUCKING SOON

TC: real soon redbro :o)

GG: thank you! :)

**adiosToreador ceased conversation**

Tavros shut his laptop and got up. He made his way down to the shipyard and eventually was picked up by Dave, and after an awkward travel to the base he was finally there. Everything went very smoothly. Once he got to the facility he met John, and had to stay in his own cell until Dirk came to disable his robotic legs functions. This made it safer and was good enough for him to see Gamzee. After that he did help improve Gamzees insanity and from then on out it was smooth sailing.

Tavros smiled as he remembered. He was so happy he had made the decision to come. Gamzee opened his eyes sleepily and grinned at Tavros. He moved his hand and sat up in bed, stretching his arms behind him, his shoulder popping.

"Did you, uh, sleep well?" Tavros asked, looking up at Gamzee. He gazed down with a wide grin. Some would call his smile creepy, but Tavros loved it. It was one of the many things that Tavros found adorable.

"With you around, I always sleep better Tavbro" Gamzee slid out of bed and stood in front of Tavros, putting his hands on the arms of wheelchair so he could look Tavros in the face. Tavros blushed a deep chocolate.

"Um, what are you doing?" Tavros stammered. Gamzee just smiled wider as he met Tavros lips with his own. Tavros melted into the kiss, never getting tired of Gamzees forwardness. He felt a warm feeling in his chest, so tight it almost hurt. _This must be what humans call love._ He wrapped his arms around Gamzees neck, pulling him closer.

Just then, the door slid open, and John walked in with a thoughtful look on his face. It took him a moment to notice what Gamzee and Tavros were doing.

"Oh! I'm sorry, should I come back later?" Tavros blushed an even deeper brown as he pushed a needy Gamzee away. Gamzee whined as the kiss broke.

"No, its, uh, fine" John looked away nervously, clearly embarrassed that he walked in at a time like this. Gamzees mood lightened when he saw what John was carrying.

"Motherfuck yes! Time for my sopor pills?" He walked over to John and took the tray of food and pills from him, taking it to the table and quickly downing all the pills. John watched, never ceasing to be amazed by the swiftness Gamzee possessed when it came to drugs.

Tavros rolled over to John, noticing that he was not as cheerful and engaged as usual.

"Is something wrong John?" John quickly glanced down, and shrugged. Tavros smiled up at him.

"You know moirailship goes both ways, tell me." It had been a week since they had agreed to that term. John and Tavros had quickly became friends when Tavros arrived and they spent a lot of time talking to each other. When Tavros had suggested moirailship John had been wary until Tavros explained it had nothing to do with romance. John was fine with it since it just seemed like the terms best friends in his mind.

"Well, it's nothing big, it's just that Karkat is here now" Gamzee looked up from eating then, a wide smile on his face.

"My Karbros here? Motherfucking miracles" John and Tavros laughed at Gamzees expression.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to talk right now, I have a lot of things to do today still" John said regretfully. Tavros nodded, understanding

"If you need to talk, I'm here" John smiled.

"Thanks"

XXXXX

John walked down the hallway to prison cell 8 while smiling, thinking of how great a friend Tavros was. He really helped John out, and he wished he did have the time to talk today.

John absentmindly punched in the code for the door as he was thinking. He sighed as he walked into the dividing room, this was always the worst part in his day. He looked through the one-sided glass at the troll that resided in this cell. She sat on the bed, listening to music from her computer with headphones on. Her long onyx hair bounced as she bobbed her head to the music. He just had to get this over with.

He quickly punched the key code in and stepped into the room. Vriska looked up and smirked when she saw him, removing her headphones. She stood as John placed the tray on her table and began to walk towards the door again, not making eye contact, not saying a word. Apparently, that was not good enough. Vriska took his arm and spun him, slamming his back into the door, her arm tightly pressed against his neck. Her eyes narrowed as she snarled at him, forcing him to look at her.

"Not even going to say hello Johnny boy?" John's lips tightened as he met her gaze.

"I don't need to deal with this today" He shoved Vriska off of him, and began punching the code into the door. He heard a growl behind him, and he moved to the side just as Vriska pounced where he was. He looked at her with annoyance.

"Do we really have to do this every day?" Vriska turned towards him with a smirk, crossing her arms.

"Of course, I always look forward to our encounters" John just rolled his eyes as he brushed past her to once again punch the code in. He felt a slender hand on his shoulder yank him back. He lost his balance and fell to the floor. Vriska quickly pinned his arms above his head and smirked, leaning closer to his face. He struggled against her, but her determination won out.

"Just let me go!" He was really annoyed now, not scared, just annoyed. She leaned down and whispered into his ear.

"Do you hate me baby?" She cooed, and he felt a sharp pain as she bit his ear.

"Get off!" Before he could successfully knock her off, she bent over his face and kissed him roughly, biting his lip. With that he shoved her off, now angry.

"I don't hate you that way! Geez, humans don't even hate that way! Will you just stop doing this!?" She stood up and smirked.

"Johnny boy, I will make you hate me. Just wait and see" This time she didn't stop him as he punched in the key and left, smirking as she watched him go.

This had turned into a daily occurrence, and John hated it. But not _that_ way. He hated it platonically, so so much. He shook his head as his anger dissipated away.

Well, only one more thing to do today. One that he wasn't sure how it would turn out. He had to go see Kanaya.

XXXXX

**A/N So this was sort of an awkward chapter, it was a lot of Tavros and not much plot development. And really long. Hopefully you guys still enjoyed it, so please tell me what you think! :) And thank you everyone who reviewed last time! :D Any predictions on what will happen? (insert eyebrow wiggle here)**


	5. Kanayas Morning

The soft sound of waves crashing against the rocky shore. The hot humid air surrounding her as she breathed slowly in… and out, tasting the salinity in the air. The bright sunshine sharing its warm rays against her bare arms. She brought her arm up to her forehead to block the sun from her eyes and looked out to the expanse of bright blue ocean. It seemed as if the blue from the ocean and the clear blue sky faded into each other, creating a never ending view of the cheerful color.

Jade hummed happily to herself as she made her way back up the rocky shore, back to headquarters. As she traversed through the thick leafy jungle, she thought about her assignment. She loved her job. For her 'assignment', she had to come to this deserted island all by herself. To her it seemed more like a vacation. True, she did get lonely at times, but she had always preferred to be by herself.

The reason for her location was that of security. Her assignment could possibly be considered the most important. She was headquarters, in charge of all the information, assignments, and decisions. The governments didn't want this project to be influenced by politics, so they put her directly in charge of everything. The governments were not allowed to be a part of anything in Project Skaia. It was, in itself, completely cut off from society.

Jade was chosen for this position by her skill at technology, rational decisions, and her curious ability to make everything always turn out how she expected it would. Since there was a fierce pressure on her with her duties, her walks around the island had become habit. They helped calm her and clear her mind. As she ascended the steps to the facility, she sighed. _Back to work_.

She opened the door and walked through pristine white hallways, heading up more stairs to the central room. It was the highest room in the facility, its curving walls made of glass exposing a 360 view of the island. The facility was on a mountain next to a volcano, so Jade could see everything from where she worked. The room itself was quite large, with equipment taking up a lot of the space. She had huge computers, hooked up to her 'station' as she liked to call it, a large array of monitors surrounding a curved desk and chair. There were eight monitors, and when she worked she usually used all of them.

Jade settled into her chair and turned them on, tapping her fingers against the desk as she thought of what to do first. She loaded up pesterchum, figuring she could talk to one of her best friends. She smiled to herself seeing Rose was online.

**gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]**

GG: hi rose!

TT: Oh, hello.

GG: how are you doing? i havent spoken to you in a couple days :)

TT: Is there a reason for your curiosity?

GG: no, honestly im just bored and don't want to get to work yet! :D

TT: I apologize, but I do not care to have a conversation about me right now.

TT: Perhaps you would like to share what is going on in your life?

GG: nothing much :P did something bad happen to you? D:

TT: No

TT: Well

TT: Perhaps

GG: you can tell me! we're best buddies, right?

GG: im here for you! :)

TT: I suppose if I tell anyone it would be you.

TT: Alright, since you so convincingly persuaded me I will. We do always end up telling each other everything, don't we?

TT: You are familiar with who prisoner six is, correct?

GG: of course, that's kanaya!

GG: did she do something wrong? :(

TT: You could say so.

GG: well?!

TT: It is difficult to say.

GG: oh, wait!

GG: im sorry, I have to go!

GG: I just got an alert on something, but I promise we will talk later!

GG: sorry! :(

TT: That's fine.

**gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]**

What had alerted her from her conversation was a program that opened up on one of her side monitors, flashing to get her attention. After Jade closed pesterchum, she turned towards it, scanning the message.

_What? _She could feel her heartbeat increase as she read over the information again, to make sure it meant what she thought it did. Having verified the information, her heartbeat speed up even more as she closed the message only to open more programs and begin a flurry of typing.

_ How can this be happening?!_

XXXXX

"Well, what a pleasant surprise, I have not seen you in a while" Kanaya stood up from her bed and walked over to where John was standing. John had just arrived and already set the tray of food on the table. Normally he would enjoy the chance to talk to Kanaya, but this meeting was under different circumstances. As he turned towards her he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. She stood over him, a good head taller than John, not including the height of her horns. She crossed her arms casually as she looked down at him.

"Will you tell me where my dear Rose has gone?" She smirked, as if to an inside joke. _Yes_, John concluded, _something did happen this morning._ John pursed his lips as he glared up at her, imagining the worst. Only something big could occur to make Rose react that way.

"What did you do to her?" He blatantly asked. She chuckled.

"Aren't we being awfully direct today?" She walked back to her bed and sat down, her hand cradling her chin as she looked at him, still smirking.

"What did she tell you?" Kanaya asked, honestly curious. John shrugged.

"Not much. But it takes a lot to phase her" Kanaya smiled knowingly.

"I can agree with that" John smiled, but then quickly erased it from his face. What was he doing? Somehow Kanaya had messed Rose up, and here they were having a seemingly casual conversation. Damn, Kanaya was easy to talk to. John was having a hard time scrutinizing her, they had always been friendly towards each other. Nevertheless, John knew he had to stand up to her for Roses sake. He walked up to where she was sitting and glowered over her as her smile disappeared. He put on the most intimidating face he could make (which was still not that intimidating, its John we're talking about here).

"I don't know what you did to her this morning, but whatever you did, don't you dare ever do it again. Rose is the strongest person I know, and seeing her like this is unacceptable" With a determined look on his face, he roughly grabbed the collar of Kanayas shirt and yanked her face closer at his to make his point.

"I won't let you break her" He almost snarled at her. With that he let go, a look of utter shock on Kanayas face. She had never seen John like that before, but she believed what he said. She was not vain, she knew John had to be strong to get a job like this, even if his exterior deceived others.

John watched her as she looked back up at him, her expression almost holding a pang of sadness.

"Do not worry, I will not break her" _The only person who would break Rose is Rose herself._ Kanaya thought to herself. John was confused by her sudden change of mood, but believed he had made his point. As he punched in the key to the door, he glanced back at Kanaya sitting still on the bed before he made his way out.

Kanayas mind dwelled on that morning. It was effectively both the best and the worst morning of her life. She had had strong feelings for Rose ever since she arrived to the facility. Rose was intelligent, snarky, and kind underneath her hard exterior. Kanaya loved everything about her, and she was convinced Rose felt the same since she switched Kanaya from John's responsibility to hers. But after that morning, she didn't know what to think. She replayed that morning events in her mind.

vvvvv

She was going to do it, this was the day. Kanaya felt her stomach turn nervously as her sensitive ears picked up the key code being punched in the door on the other side of the wall. She quickly relaxed her muscles, putting on the façade of cool and collected, even though on the inside she was everything but.

Rose walked into the room, almost gliding with graceful steps. Kanaya admired her as she did so. As usual, Roses sense of style was splendid, a concept that Kanayas passion for fassion appreciated. She wore a long black skirt that flowed behind her as she swept into the room. Her rich purple shirt clung to her curves, its black stitching complimenting the skirt well. She wore a black skull pendant that fell over her exposed chest, softly falling up and down as she breathed. Her brilliantly blond hair was dead straight, the shoulder length hair casually swept back into black headband. Her eyes were a dazzling almost purple, wide yet unclear, hiding the secrets of her soul. Her plump lips were perfectly shaped, colored a deep and shiny oynx. They fluttered softly as words escaped her lips, the voice produced one of silky perfection.

"Kanaya? Are you even listening to me?" Rose lifted an annoyed eyebrow as she crossed her arms, her perfect lips drawing a tight line. _Gog, stop looking at her lips! _Kanaya put on a smooth smile and stood up, slowly approaching Rose. She carefully took one of Roses hands into her own and kissed it, looking up into Roses blushing face.

"Of course, I always listen to you darling" Rose gave her a confused look as Kanaya slipped her other hand around the small of her back, effectively bringing them closer together.

"Kanaya, what are you doing?" She sounded fearful, and her blush had deepened even more. Kanayas smile widened, even though on the inside she was just as nervous as Rose looked.

"Don't you think it is time? I know these aren't one sided feelings dear" Kanaya smiled sweetly down at Rose. A knowing look crossed Roses eyes as they widened, then became impassive again. She pulled away from her arms and looked clearly at Kanaya.

"You know I don't feel the same. We've had this conversation before" Rose crossed her arms, an annoyed look on her face.

"Even if I did feel the same, it is extremely inappropriate for the situation" Kanaya swallowed her pain at that statement, replacing it with anger. She was lying.

"You know I'm right. Why else would you have taken over Johns duties? You want to see me, to be with me!" Rose gave her a pitied smile and shook her head.

"Kanaya, you are a very dear friend to me. Unfortunately, I can not ever return your feelings" She turned towards the door, beginning to punch in the key to leave. Kanaya could not stand this. Her chest seized with anger and longing, both stregnthing the other emotion.

"I will speak to you when you come to your senses Kanaya" As Rose began to walk out the door Kanayas emotions took over her actions as she yanked Roses arm back, spinning the girl into her grasp as she parrionatly kissed Rose, her eyes clenched shut with anger, sorrow, and sadness.

A few seconds passed as Kanaya had her lips planted on Roses while Rose was too shocked to move. Then something miraculous happened. Rose melted into her kiss, bringing her hands up to kanayas neck in a moment of passion, kissing Kanaya back. Now it was Kanayas turn to be shocked, but she didn't stay that way for long. Soon they were both kissing passionately, tongues intertwined as the months of waitning all resulted in this.

Soon Rose came to her senses, and roughly pushed Kanaya away. Kanaya smiled slyly, proud of her accomplishment. Rose just looked horrified, shocked, and furious all at once.

"Looks like _you_ were the one who came to your senses" She couldn't help but saying, Roses face snapping to pure rage as she pounded out of the room, the door sliding behind her.

vvvvv

At first Kanaya was deeply satisfied, Rose had returned her feelings. But as the day went on she could not shake the feeling that what she had done was possibly the worst decision she could have made. Now Rose was angry, avoiding her, and maybe she wouldn't ever see her again, sending John to do her job everyday.

Kanaya sighed, knowing it was high time to contact her moirail. She walked across the room and settled down at her computer, pulling up Trollian.

**grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling gallowsCalibrator [GC]**

GA: Hello, May I Speak To You On A Certain Manner

GC: SUR3, WH4TS UP? :]

GA: Well, It Has To Do With Rose, I Believe I May Have Made A Mistake

GC: L4Y 1T ON M3

GA: I Might Have Been Too Rash In My Advances Towards Her, And Now I Believe That She Won't Speak To Me Again

GC: D4MN G1RL, TH4TS ROUGH. 1F SH3S R34LLY WORTH YOUR3 T1ME SH3'LL R34L1Z3 HOW 4W3SOM3 YOU 4R3 THOUGH :]

GA: I Suppose You Are Correct

GA: Thank You, I Am Just Nervous

GA: I Really Do Care Deeply For Her

GC: SOUNDS L1K3 1T, 1 HOP3 1T WORKS OUT

GA: By The Way, Hows The Weather There Doing?

GC: THE STORMS BREWING BUT SO FAR ITS STILL SUNNY SKYS

GC: I CANT WAIT TILL IT RAINS THOUGH :]

GA: That's Good, I Am Glad The Clouds Are Still Safe In The Sky.

GA: How Is The Pursuit Going?

GC: H3S G3TT1NG CLOS2, BUT THE KN1GHT WONT G3T 4NY CLOS3R

GA: That Is Good As Well.

GA: Contact Me When The Clouds Start Coming

GC: 4S 4LW4YS :]

**gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling grimAuxiliatrix [GA]**

XXXXX

**A/N So what did you guys think? I am actually really proud of this chapter for once, even though sometimes it did get a little choppy. And boy did this take me a long time! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you guys motivated me to get this done today! Please leave another review! So, any predictions this time?**


	6. Rising Tide

He was close.

He could feel it in his bones. Dave smirked, adjusting the shades that hid his eyes. He had been following a certain troll for months now, and had finally caught her trail. It had been hard to do, she was very careful, but nobody could outsmart Dave.

He was standing at the base of a cliff, the dark musky woods surrounding him. The last rays of light were fading, signaling the crickets to begin their song. The dense cool air swirled at his feet, the breeze washing down the forest cliff. He began to make his ascent, paying careful mind to the ground now that the sun had fallen. There was no trail, but he had watched Terezi go up and knew the general direction of where she went.

He had dueled Terezi many times during his hunt, each time learning valuable pieces of information. She was a tricky challenge, and he seemed to enjoy fighting her. While his skills were equal to hers, if not better, she had always managed to slip away before he could end the battle. Finally he had caught up to where she was hiding, and he would hopefully find out what she was concealing.

At the beginning of the mission he had been assigned to the take down team, along with Dirk and Jake. Soon after he had his first fight with Terezi, and he knew something was… off. She kept leaving vague clues, as if wanting to pull him into her mysterious secret. After that he broke off from the team to focus solely on finding out what Terezi was hiding. He knew it had to be something big, it was one of those gut feelings. The same feeling that was telling him he was so close to revealing the secret he had spent months trying to uncover.

He reached a leveled clearing on the cliff that was void of trees, and upon squinting his eyes through the darkness, he saw a black mouth of a cave, tall enough to easily accommodate a person and the black abyss implied depth. That would be the perfect place to hide.

Dave unsheathed his long sword, and inched around the clearing towards the mouth of the cave, eyes sweeping around him for any sign of the troll.

"Well well well. Haven't you gotten a little too close?" Dave looked up to see Terezi casually standing on a small ledge above the cave opening, leaning her chin on her cane while smirking down at Dave. Even in the dim light, Dave could make out her features perfectly. She wore a black spandex suit that hugged her womanly curves, a teal belt draped loosely around her waist, the buckle in the shape of her sign, outlined in red. A scarlet cape draped softly around her shoulders, flowing gracefully in the breeze. Her hood was down, revealing her sharp orange horns sprouting out of inky black hair. Pointed red glasses hid her eyes, but her toothy grin revealed her mischievous child like personality. Dave glanced to her cane adorned with a red dragon skull as she slid it apart, revealing two swords.

"Well my knight, shall we dance?" She cackled sharply before jumping gracefully down to meet her opponent.

XXXXX

How can this be happening?!

Jade was panicked as she typed, loading up various security programs and locking down the facility through the main computer. What had alarmed the system was a breach in security, which was close to impossible on the secluded island. After Jade had gone through protocol by shutting branches of the facility down, she loaded up another program. She scanned through the information. There had been no ships within 100 kilometers of the island for the past three days! How could someone have possibly snuck in? On her monitors it showed one life form on the east branch of the facility. She loaded the security footage from the hall it was currently in and the camera was clearly dysfunctioning, a static black the only view it gave.

Jade thought about the next course of action. The facility was a huge base that was connected underground through passageways, one of which the intruder had made its way in. All of the doors leading to the main facility, where she was now, were securely closed and locked. As long as she stayed in the main facility, there was no way the intruder could get in.

Just to be safe Jade started encrypting the top secret information on the computer. It was already encrypted before, but this would add extra caution. Before she could get through most of it, the table and monitors started to shake, the floor rumbling as it jumbled the equipment. A monitor fell and broke on the white concrete floor, its glass screen shattering leaving an array of shards on the floor.

What the hell was that?!

Before Jade could right herself a larger boom sounded, and this time both cabinets and monitors fell over from the vibrations. Immediately after Jade rushed to a heavy steeled cabinet, ripping open the doors before quickly grabbing a shotgun, loading it quickly. Just in time a huge boom sounded behind her and smoke filled the air. Only one of the two dozen monitors remained unscathed and the room was in a flurry of glass shards and falling paper. Jade coughed as she squinted through the smoke, aiming her shotgun diligently.

Through smoke a figure emerged, cape flowing arrogantly behind them, a large rifle resting in his hand. Before the intruder had time to make another move Jade shot, and the intruders hand flew to his shoulder.

"Fuck! What did you do that for? Do you know who I am?!" The intruder had a wavy accent, his sea swept hair bobbing up and down in pain. He rested down on his knees, and Jade quickly made her way over the broken glass, all the while keeping her eye trained on him.

"I aimed for your shoulder. The next one goes straight through your heart. What is your purpose here?" Jade stood menacingly over the clutching intruder, his hand covering up a deep purple wound. As he snarled Jade got a closer look at him. He was huddled on the ground, yet his face showed a mixture of fury and pain. He was obviously a troll, his silky gray skin and angle horns betrayed that fact. His ears were unusual however; the skin where his ears would be was branched off into fins, half the size of his head. She recognized him from the debriefing. His name was... Eridan? Yes, she remembered him now. He had on a black wet suit with purple pin stripes running down the sides, and a gold utility belt hugged his hips. A quite useless purple cape flowed around him, and as he was clutching his shoulder she could see his hands were adorned in dozens of golden rings. She was more interested in his other hand, which was still clutching the rifle that had presuming shot through the thick metal walls.

"Put the rifle down" She demanded in a strong voice, her aim still positioned on his heart. He snarled at her, but nevertheless put his rifle down slowly.

"Can you put down that unsightly weapon now? I am not going to harm you. Even if I wanted to, a pathetic human like yourself is not even worth my time." He said this all with a huff, his gaze moving elsewhere in annoyance. Jade raised her eyebrow.

"Are you saying a pathetic human like myself brought you down?" Eridan rolled his eyes and carefully stood up, Jade tensing as he did so. His hand slipped from his injured arm as he gave her a look of amusement, smirking as he did so.

"Whoever said you brought me down?" Before Jade could react, Eridan swiftly reached down to his belt and pulled out a white wand, swishing it across the air, Jades rifle flying out of her hands. She reached down to grab the handgun strapped to her ankle, but Eridan was too quick. A blinding light surrounded her, and she clutched her head, a piercing headache resounding through her skull. As she faded into unconsciousness, her last sight was of Eridan standing over her with a smug grin on his face.

XXXXX

"Get the fuck away from me!" Karkat snarled at the cheerful human. John just laughed.

"Come on Karkat, this will be fun!" John had brought in a board game for them to play, to supposedly 'pass the time'. This particular board had an elderly man on the cover with a top hat and a monocle. Seemed far from something worthwhile.

"It even says on the back, 'hours of fun for all!'" The troll gave John an incredulous look.

"Hours?! I did not fucking sign up for this" John pouted, giving Karkat his best puppy dog expression.

"Please Karkat? It's not like you have anything else to do" Karkat gave the boy a blank stare, then sighed, giving in.

"Fine" As John was setting up the board Karkat could still not see the connection between the cheerfully humming human to the same one that had threatened him when he first arrived. John was a warrior, an agent, a protector of earth. Yet he was so kind, gentle, and held no high regard for killing. While it still confused the troll, he was getting more used to the idea, and had even begun to appreciate it.

"Karkat?" Said troll looked up, realizing that he had been dazing off. His face tinted red at his mistake. Wait, why was it doing that? He pushed his thoughts away and roughly shoved John, grabbing a game piece.

"How does this fucking game work?" He asked bitterly, and John smiled widely while beginning to explain the rules.

As they played the game many curses were said, laughter had, and childish banter ensued. Once two hours had passed John looked down at his watch and stood up surprised.

"Oh geez, it's later than I thought. I've got to go report in to Rose. Can you pick up the game please?" Karkat had an unusual feeling of disappointment, but nevertheless snarled at John.

"Fine. I'll pick up your fucking useless game for you" Even with Krakats rude attitude John chuckled.

"Thanks Karkat! I'll see you later" As he turned to walk to the door, Karkat felt an odd pressure on his chest.

"Wait John" Said human turned around, eyebrow raised in question.

"Yes?" Karkat froze.

"Uh..." What was he going to say? He didn't even know why he had stopped John, it just slipped from his mouth. John continued to stare at him, waiting for an answer. Karkat burned red, then snapped to his usual defense mechanism.

"What are you fucking staring at me for? Didn't you have somewhere to be? Or did your think pan finally give up on your pathetic life?" John looked taken aback.

"But you asked me to wait?"

Karkat growled.

"Well I changed my mind. Is that a process you can't fucking understand?" John rolled his eyes, annoyed at Karkats usual behavior.

"Whatever Karkat. I'll see you later" John left the room, the door hissing behind him as it closed. Karkat grumbled as he began to pick up the pieces from the game. Why did he even say anything? Why did he stop him? Why was he... blushing?

As much as he hated to realize it, he knew that answer. John was kind, goofy, strong, and just fucking adorable. He... He was flushed for him, as much as he hated that realization. However, he knew he couldn't change his feelings. The universe had brought them together, and nothing could change that fact.

But a fucking human?

Karkat grumbled audibly as he walked over to his computer, hoping to distract his thoughts for a while. He opened up trollian, surprised to see that someone had contacted him within the past hour. Usually the trolls tried to avoid talking to him by all means necessary. However, this particular one just left a message.

**twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]**

TA: iit2 almo2t ready. get prepared.

**twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]**

**A/N I am so sorry this took so long! I've been super busy with college applications and such, but I think I've gotten through most of that, so updates should be more frequent now. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! And everyone who has favorited this story! You guys are awesome! Please review over anything you like, whether it be comments, questions, or just speculations on what's to come! :P Thanks!**


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